Indians Prospect Insider

A week ago, we were in the middle of a brutal 1-5 road trip. While some of the slumps this season have been particularly frustrating, this team has proven time and time and time again that they are not in this to roll over and quit. The visiting Mets were blown out 8-1 as Scott Kazmir's dominant start and Nick Swisher's grand slam paved the way for the Tribe. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan for his thoughts on the victory.

10-9 with a 3.79 ERA. Would you believe me if I told you these stats belong to Ubaldo Jimenez? The same guy who lost 14 games in 2012 and hasn’t failed to get his ERA below five since arriving in Cleveland. Well, on Tuesday night, the right-hander pitched six shutout innings to earn his 10th win of the season. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan as he gives his thoughts on another crucial win by the Tribe in their wild card chase.

A rough start for McAllister, a lost fly ball by Bourn with the bases loaded, wild pitches and more missed scoring opportunities did the Indians in again on Friday night in Detroit even with Miguel Cabrera taken out of the game early with an injury. The rain provided some relief to the torment, but ended up forcing the game to be called to hand Cleveland their fourth straight loss. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan for his thoughts on the game.

Jake and Hayden are back on Call to the Bullpen to discuss the playoff races heating up in both leagues. Right now, the Indians are legitimate playoff contenders as they currently sit three games out of the wild card. However, they are at the beginning of a crucial nine-game stretch. The guys will discuss the Tribe's offensive struggles, potential waiver trades and September call-ups and the latest from around the majors.

Since the start of August, the Indians offense has been next to last in the major leagues in production. Tuesday night was more of the same, unfortunately as the Indians scattered six hits and five walks without plating a run. One fateful pitch to Elliot Johnson was the difference in an otherwise well-pitched game. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan as he gives his second thoughts on the Tribe's 2-0 loss in Atlanta.

Right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez took his eighth loss of the season tonight and believe it or not, it wasn’t totally his own doing. While he did allow two runs on four hits in the first two innings, he pitched lights out the rest of the way going six innings and striking out a season-high 10 batters. However, he was handed the loss after the Indians fell 5-1 to the Twins. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan for his thoughts on the game.

It was the most exciting, frustrating, boring and astonishing night of baseball that most Cleveland fans probably will ever see. After the Indians tied the game at one in the seventh, the score would hold until the 14th inning as both teams failed to capitalize on opportunities. Drew Stubbs proved to be the hero as he broke through with a two-run homer in the 14th. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan as he recaps a late-night 4-1 Tribe win.

As streaky as this Indians offense has been this season, they’ve proven that it doesn’t take much to break out of a slump. While Monday night alone was no definite indication that the offense was on the cusp of another hot streak, they still put up a crooked number against one of the top pitchers in the league. A four-run fourth backed up by solid pitching by Zach McAllister gave the Indians a series opening win over the Angels.

When your team gets eight hits and draws nine walks in a game, you expect them to score more than two runs. Such was not the case on Friday night as the Indians dropped the series opener in Oakland 3-2 to the A’s. When a pitching-sound team like Oakland gives you opportunities to not only score, but take complete command of a game, you must take advantage. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan as he offers his Second Thoughts and recaps a frustrating loss in the Bay Area.

Since coming off the disabled list after the All-Star break, Zach McAllister has been working to find the consistency he once had. On Tuesday night, the right-hander pitched six innings while allowing only two runs. Ryan Raburn led the offense in their 5-2 win with a two-run shot in the sixth. The Tribe also benefited from losses by divisional/wild card opponents. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan as he gives his second thoughts on the win.

Rookie southpaw Andrew Albers dominated the Tribe in a two-hit shutout effort. Albers also got a helping hand or two from his defense as several sensational catches and plays throughout the night. Danny Salazar wasn't as sharp as he allowed three runs via the long ball in four innings of work, which was enough for Albers and the Twins to claim victory. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan as he gives his thoughts on the shutout.

While we may have denied or even forgotten about the fact that this is Scott Kazmir’s first full season as a big league starter since 2010 and that he may have a point in the season where his arm begins to tire. The left-hander struggled in three innings giving up five runs all in the first, which proved to be more than enough for LA. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan as he recaps the Tribe's fifth straight loss.

Well, if there was any doubt as to whether the Tigers and Indians were equals, it was answered in these last two games, or the whole season series between the two teams for that matter. The Indians are a good team with plenty of potential to grow, but Detroit was picked to win the World Series for a reason. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan as he recaps a bad inning by Masterson and a quiet night for the bats in another loss to Motown.

I hope no one had any traumatic memories of the 1997 World Series dredged up on Friday night as the Indians saw their eight-game win streak come to a screeching halt against the now-Miami Marlins. Young phenom Jose Fernandez continued his stellar rookie campaign pitching eight shutout innings against the Tribe. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan as he gives his second thoughts on how South Beach has once again haunted Cleveland.

As this team has shown time and time again this season, there is no opponent or deficit they don’t believe they can overcome. They’ve had their ups and downs throughout the year, but they’ve never given up on themselves. That trend continued as Ryan Raburn and Yan Gomes delivered key knocks late in Tuesday night's game for the Tribe's sixth straight win. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan as he recaps an Indians 7-4 comeback win.

Since day one, the Indians have been blessed with a luxury they have not enjoyed for quite some time in their bench. Meanwhile, a former strength in their bullpen continues to struggle with Joe Smith currently leading the charge. It was all a moot point on Friday night as Ryan Raburn walked off the Tribe in extra innings with a three run blast. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan as he gives his second thoughts on another Indians walk-off win.

It's not the way the Indians wanted to start the second half, but is it time to hit the panic button? Jake and guest host Mike Hattery discuss a tough road trip to open the second half as well as the numerous miscues and mental lapses the Tribe has seen as of late. The guys will also talk trade rumors and the first suspensions of the Biogenesis scandal on this week's edition of Call to the Bullpen tonight at 10pm ET!

The long-anticipated return of Zach McAllister to the Indians rotation is finally here and while his first start wasn’t all that great, we’ll still take it considering the circumstances. The right-hander pitched five innings allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits and had to work around miscues by his defense as well as his own rustiness. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan as he recaps another frustrating loss for the Tribe

It wasn’t exactly how the Indians wanted to start the second half, but despite losing two out of three in Minnesota, Cleveland didn’t lose any ground in the division race since the Tigers had a similar outcome in Kansas City. In addition to plugging some holes via trade, the Indians need some of the guys they already have to start stepping up. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan as he recaps this week with the Indians.

If anyone has had more tough luck in the Indians rotation this season, it has to be lefty Scott Kazmir. As strong and inspiring as his comeback to the major leagues has been, he’s also had his share of misfortune on the mound. Friday night was no different as Kazmir pitched shutout baseball, but botched plays in the field led to the game-tying runs scoring. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan as he gives his 'Second Thoughts' on a frustrating loss.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!